This article contains a draft of the report "Records of the Black-fronted Bee Fly in Shiga Prefecture," which was published in the following journal.
Citation method: Ikeda, Kenichi. 2021. Records of *Pyrrhula japonica* in Shiga Prefecture. Monthly Insect Magazine 610: 46. ISSN: 0388-418X
This article was written assuming the first recorded sighting of the black-winged beetle fly in Shiga Prefecture.
There may be minor changes in wording, but the cited references remain the same. For more accurate information, please refer to the journal.
Distribution of the black-spotted beetle fly in Japan
Ligyra similis Coquillett, 1898 is a species of bee fly (Ligyra similis) distributed in Japan as Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu (Japanese Insect Catalog Editorial Committee, 2014; Iwasaki, 2021). It is distinguished from Ligyra tantalus (Fabricius, 1794) by the transparent tips and posterior margins of its wings (Saegusa, 2008). Records exist in Gifu Prefecture (Riverfront Development Center, 1996), Fukui Prefecture (Fukui Prefecture Natural Environment Conservation Research Association, 1998; Riverfront Development Center, 1999), Kyoto Prefecture (Kyoto Prefecture Natural Environment Conservation Division, 2015b), Hyogo Prefecture (Shinke, 1989), Tottori Prefecture (Sato and Tsurusaki, 2010), Yamaguchi Prefecture (Kakinuma, 2011), Tokushima Prefecture (Hirai, 1992), Ehime Prefecture (Saegusa, 2008), Miyazaki Prefecture (Iwasaki, 2021), etc., but there are no records in the Natural Environment Conservation Division of the Lake Biwa Environmental Department, Shiga Prefecture (2018).
Author's distribution record
The author photographed a female of this species resting on the sandy shore of Lake Biwa at Miyagahama, Okishima-cho, Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture, around 12:00 PM on August 6, 2010, and reports the findings here.
1 female (pictured), Miyagahama, Okishima-cho, Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture, August 6, 2010, photographed by the author.
Given that it has been observed inhabiting sand dunes (Sato and Tsurusaki, 2010) and ponds with Saururus chinensis colonies (Iwasaki, 2021), and that instances of it coexisting with the black-winged beetle fly have been found on the internet, it is possible that this species, at least in terms of habitat, is similar to that of the black-winged beetle fly (Kyoto Prefecture Natural Environment Conservation Division, 2015a), which inhabits riverside grasslands and coastlines.
References
Hirai, Masao, 1992. Dragonflies of Handa Town. Proceedings of the Local History Research Conference (38): 91-94. https://library.bunmori.tokushima.jp/digital/webkiyou/38/3811.html
Fukui Prefecture Natural Environment Conservation Research Association, 1998. Fukui Prefecture Insect Catalog, 2nd Edition. Fukui Prefecture, Fukui. 556pp. https://www.erc.pref.fukui.jp/gbank/insect/ins_list.html
Iwasaki, Ikuo, 2021. Collection of *Pterocephalus spp.* in Miyazaki Prefecture. Monthly Insect Magazine (599): 48-49.
Kakinuma, Susumu, 2011. Distribution records of Diptera in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Yamaguchi no Mushi (10): 131-134.
Kyoto Prefectural Government, Natural Environment Conservation Division, 2015a. Kyoto Prefecture Red Data Book 2015, Volume 1: Wild Animals. Kyoto Prefectural Government, Natural Environment Conservation Division, Kyoto. 503pp.
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Riverfront Development Center, 1999. Yearbook of the National Census of Rivers and Waterfronts: River Edition, Fiscal Year 1997 (Heisei 9): Bird Survey, Amphibian/Reptile/Mammal Survey, Terrestrial Insect Survey, etc. Sankaido, Tokyo. 91 pp.
Takashi Sato and Nobuhiro Tsurusaki, 2010. Insect fauna of the Tottori Sand Dunes (preliminary report). Research Bulletin of the Tottori Prefectural Museum (47): 45-81. https://www.pref.tottori.lg.jp/secure/1072780/4778.pdf
Shiga Prefecture, Lake Biwa Environmental Department, Natural Environment Conservation Division, 2018. Shiga Prefecture Insect Catalog. http://www.pref.shiga.lg.jp/d/shizenkankyo/shigakoncyuu/h30_shigakonncyuu.html
Shinya, K., 1989. Insects of southwestern Amagasaki (Part 1). Kiberihamushi 17(2): 27-30. https://www.konchukan.net/pdf/kiberihamushi/Vol17_2/kiberihamushi_17_2_27-30.pdf
